He made his debut in a World Cup qualifier against Moldova in September 1996 at the age of 21.

Stand-in boss Peter Taylor made him captain for a friendly against Italy in late 2000, a role he was handed on a permanent basis under Sven-Goran Eriksson.

Arguably the highlight of his England career came in a crucial 2002 World Cup qualifier when Beckham scored a stunning last-minute free-kick to make it 2-2 against Greece and send Eriksson's side to Korea and Japan.

He went on to skipper England 58 times, behind only Billy Wright and Bobby Moore (both 90) and Bryan Robson (65).